Maidana-Broner Bout Returns Welterweights to the Spotlight

But Boxing's Biggest Feud Imperils Its Best Weight Class

Boxing finished the year with a bout for the ages on Saturday, when Marcos Maidana wrested the WBA welterweight title from the previously undefeated Adrian Broner at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The 24-year-old Broner (27-1), a brash, consummate fighter who has modeled both his life and boxing styles on Floyd "Money" Mayweather, entered the bout as the heavy favorite, but found himself on the canvas twice before losing a unanimous decision. Maidana, the 30-year-old Argentine, landed 231 of 663 power punches in the upset, improving his record to 35-3.

ENLARGE

Marcos Maidana, right, took the WBA welterweight title from Adrian Broner on Saturday.
Associated Press

More than a just captivating contest, Saturday's fight made it evident that the epicenter of the sport has definitively moved to the 147-pound (welterweight) division.

Broner, a Cincinnati native who pledged after the loss that he was "still going to party," has successfully marketed himself as a fighter who many fans love to hate. On Saturday, the 11,000-plus at the Alamodome were vocally in support of the Argentine challenger with hands of stone, and they made their feelings known in the second and eighth rounds, when left hooks from Maidana delivered Broner to the canvas.

One of the most accurate punchers in boxing, Broner fought back, winning some of middle and late rounds. But after 36 minutes of frenetic action, there was little doubt that a solution had been found to Adrian "The Problem" Broner's boxing style. After the decision—115-110, 116-109, and 117-109—was announced, Broner immediately bolted from the ring but later said, "I don't need a warm-up. Just get me a rematch."

At the end of the night, Showtime commentator Mauro Ranallo effused, "The welterweight division is an embarrassment of riches."

That's an understatement. Apart from the kings of pay-per-view—Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather—there are quality welterweights fighting all over the globe, from WBO welterweight champ Timothy Bradley (31-0) and IBF titleholder Shawn Porter (23-0-1), to light welterweight champion Danny Garcia (27-0), Kell Brook (31-0), Paulie Malignaggi (33-5), and Keith Thurman (22-0), the last of whom scored a scintillating TKO victory on the undercard of Saturday's fight.

Then, of course, there's Maidana and Broner. Both fighters are represented by Golden Boy Promotions, the firm launched in 2002 by Oscar De La Hoya that also includes Mayweather and Bernard Hopkins. Unfortunately, despite the historic depth in the current welterweight class, the continuing feud between Golden Boy and Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions has made it all but impossible for some of these elite fighters to meet one another in the ring. One glaring example is Manny Pacquiao (Top Rank) and Floyd Mayweather (Golden Boy).

Were a truce between boxing's two major promotional firms were ever reached, the battles in the welterweight division would force fans to think thrice before shrugging off boxing as a marginalized sport.

"The two biggest names in boxing fight in the welterweight division," said longtime boxing analyst Steve Farhood. "And Mayweather and Pacquiao aside, I can name a dozen welterweights who are not just world class, but championship-caliber. The division is the strongest in boxing, and while perhaps not as strong at the top as it was in the Leonard-Hearns-Benitez-Duran era, it is probably deeper."

Marino needs to get his facts straight:Broner's first name is Adrien, not Adrian. Floyd Mayweather works in conjunction with Golden Boy Promotions with his promotion company "Mayweather Promotions" he is no longer a Golden Boy fighter (Since 2006).But a decent article nonetheless.

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